The Irish standard., 1887-02-12
RTyNE-TELLERS.
How They Operate Their swintlling Bust
ness in New York City.

FORT yNE-TELLERS.
How They Operate Their swinaling Bust.
ness in New York City.
'sThere are at least five or six hun.
dred regular professional clairvoyant:
or fortune-tellers in the city who prey
upon the credulity Of ignorant and fire.
quently well-educated people," said a
prominent physician to q reporter.
1.-THE business signs of many of these
seers are boldly put out to attract at
tention and rope in weak-minded Gus
toners. just take walk down Third,
Sixth and Eighth avenues and you will
find any number Of these business
signs. A majority OF the clairvoyants
try to get as conveniently near the
tenement districts as possible; a great
deal of patronage comes from the
poor The expose of the bogus
astrologers has no perceptible effect
upon the business Of the fortune-tell-
ers. AS long as the world contains
people who are ignorant and supersti-
tious these fakirs will find customers
to pay them for valueless information.
Two young ladies who are we'll edu-
Gated and have not only the comforts
but the Injuries of life paid visit to a
noted clairvoyant on Sixth avenue. A
tall man, with long hair, met them in 81
par]or and requested one of them to
step into the clairvoyant room. The
younger went in and was Mortified
when he locked the door. She resolved
to have her fortune told. The long
haired seer meant business, and stated
his scale Of prices Immediately.
II will answer one question for fifty
cents, and tell you your fortune, past,
prese Mt and future, for the sum Of five
dollars.
'.The young lady gave him fifty cents
and asked him & question. He answered
it Immediately, and she was permitted
to go back to the parlor. Her companion,
though, was more than a match for the
clairvoyant. He stated his prices and
urged her to expend five dollars and
know her fate in full. He told her she
had remarkable history, some facts Of
which even her parents knew nothing,
and that she was destined to create
"a stir in the world at time he could
specify. Finally he said, critically:
"sYou believe am a h,tmbug, dom t
you
":Of course I do,' she frankly
answered.
4 knew it when you entered, but ]
can tell your fortune all the same, he
answered.
"She gave him fifty cents for one
question. The question staggered him.
He handed her back the money and
said his influence was on the wane in
the spirit world. He had little boy
who guided him, and lately the chap had
grown restive and played pranls upon
him. He could have answered the
question correctly, but the boy was not
paying attention. The result was that
he was endeavoring to hunt out in the
spirit world an influence that he could
rely upon in all emergencies. He
vn],lnteered the information that a
party OF five were coming from Boston,
and that each had already deposited
the magn11ln five dollars to hear
their fate in full. He was willing
for the young lady to go into
the pool. Now, those, two girls
departed disgusted with the hoary-
headed prophet. But they call it fun,
and will doubtless visit some other clair
voyant. I think law should be passed
declaring fortune-telling either by
means of so-called trance-mediums,
cl;sirvoyants, cards, hand-read;ng or
pair,istry, astrology, coffee-grounds,
voo*looism or charms to be a misde-
mcanor and punishable by fine and
imprisonment when money is taken
for the same. 1t is simply a system of
vagabondage, or license to cheat and
swind]e the ignorant. I know it is
hard to protect the ignorant against
themselves, but when open-handed
swindling is carried on under the name
Of so-called fortune-telling, then the
law should deal with the culprits. The
ignorant people who patronize clair
voyants do not for once take into con-
sideration that if these seers can find
out so much there would be no neces-
sity of Their charging fees--their 'intlu-
ence' could tell them how to find gold
mines or buy the winning lottery tick
ct. IN. z. 4Wci1 and Express.